


Called Out

by lfvoy



Series: Tales from Winter Camp [1]
Category: Earth 2
Genre: Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-10-08
Updated: 2011-10-08
Packaged: 2017-10-24 09:50:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/262103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lfvoy/pseuds/lfvoy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Alonzo cheats at cards.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Called Out

“All right,” said Cameron. “Let’s take a look.”

They laid their cards down on the table one by one. Alonzo, always one for the flash, took his time with his hand. It wasn’t until he laid the last card down that his reason became clear.

From Cameron’s right, Danziger made a rude noise. “Straight flush. Figures.” He threw his cards down, revealing three of a kind. “Last time I’m dealing. Someone else can feed these things to Solace.”

Gathering the markers from the middle of the table, Alonzo responded with a wicked smile. “Still got it, kid. Never lost it.”

“Right.” Walman shoved back from the table. “I’m out. Lost enough already.”

“Oh, come on, Walman, don’t be such a pain.” Alonzo gathered the cards. “One more hand. I’ll deal.”

“Look, you’re not doing chores anytime between here and New Pacifica. Isn’t that good enough?”

Alonzo responded by throwing his markers back into the middle of the table. Paper was far too precious to be used for chore poker, so they’d set up a system of notched twigs. The bits of wood clattered loudly in the bio-dome’s evening silence.

“Pot’s full,” said Alonzo. “Opening bet, one. Who’s in?”

Muttering something under his breath, Walman sat back down. They played quickly, not speaking beyond what was necessary. This time, it was Danziger who called the look from Alonzo’s left. They laid their cards down.

“Damn you, Solace!” Walman’s face was flushed pink. “Where’d you get that Ace? Don’t tell me that just came out of nowhere.”

“That’s what they call me, man,” laughed Alonzo, gathering the pot again.

“That’s what you had up your sleeve, too,” said Cameron.

A shocked silence fell around the table.

Baines, who had been uncharacteristically quiet this evening, was the first to break it. “Is that so?”

Cameron nodded evenly. “He’s been hiding it since the deal before last.”

“And you know this because?” Alonzo’s tone was tight, almost angry.

“Because I saw you do it. You switched it out with something else during the last hand.”

Baines shoved the pile of twigs back into the middle of the table. “Count the cards. Not you,” he snapped when Alonzo began to reach out. “You stay still.” He shoved the cards over toward Walman. “You’re the one he fleeced out, you do it.”

He counted them quickly, sorting them by suit. “Fifty. Two of spades and ten of diamonds missing. Where are they?”

Sheepishly, Alonzo tugged the two out of his sleeve and threw it into the middle of the table. “There’s the two. You must have dropped the ten, because I don’t have it.”

“I doubt it.” Walman stood up. “Where is it, Solace?”

“I don’t have it! I swear! Look,” Alonzo pulled his jacket off, dropping it onto the floor. He wore short sleeves underneath. “There, no sleeves. You see any cards?”

With daggers in his eyes, Walman picked up the coat and turned it inside out, searching the pockets as well. He blinked, startled, the angry expression replaced by confusion. “It isn’t here.”

“Stand up,” said Danziger. “It could be under his leg.”

“It isn’t —” at expressions hardened around the table, Alonzo broke off and stood up, stepping back and raising his arms. “See for yourself.”

There were no cards anywhere.

“Huh,” said Danziger thoughtfully. “Maybe it fell out somewhere and we never noticed.”

“Maybe.” Walman sat back down. “But he did have the two. Which means it’s time to settle up.” He gathered the twigs from the table with a meaningful look at Alonzo. “Hand over the rest of yours.”

“Oh come, on Walman, it’s just in fun —”

“Markers. All of them. Now.”

With an injured look, he dug them out and threw them into the middle of the table. Walman started distributing them around the table, going around the circle as if he were dealing the cards. Nobody moved until he was done.

“I think that’s fair,” he said in conclusion. “Gather ‘em up, gentlemen. And I’m not playing again as long as Solace as at the table.”

“Neither am I.” Baines collected his markers and stood up. “Fair play’s common courtesy.”

“I’ll say.” Danziger reached for his markers at the same time Cameron did. The table was small enough that their arms bumped as they drew the piles back, but neither man noticed until there was a small _clack_ as the ten of diamonds tumbled out onto the table’s surface.

Cameron froze as all eyes turned to him.

Alonzo, who’d stood up to leave, sat back down. He glared across the table. “I guess it takes one to know one, doesn’t it?”

**Author's Note:**

> I do not know how to play poker, so any mistakes in rules or terminology are unintentional.


End file.
